Based upon marking of Mocks!!

Outstanding CA’s – many still missing Shakespeare CA’s ; others have various bits and pieces outstanding – inc. S&L

After school catch up and revision sessions (letters)

Spoken Language Study CA – ALL need to finish (in class)

Revision for English Language Exam

Completion of Literature course – revision of ‘OMAM’, studying/revision of Literature text: ‘An Inspector Calls’ and poetry (cluster and preparation for an ‘unseen’ poem)

Reading Writing

Q1 – 8 (selecting / retrieving information)

Q2 – 8 (headline / image) Q3 – 8 (thoughts /

feelings / key ideas) Q4 – 16 (language –

comparison of 2 extracts)

Q5 – 16 marks (AO4i+ii - /10 ; AO4 iii - /6) (descriptive writing)

Q6 – 24 marks (AO4i+ii - /16 ; AO4 iii - /8) (writing to argue / persuade)

GRADE BOUNDARIES

A* A B C D E F G

ENG1H (Higher

Tier)

61 55 49 44 39 - - -

Timing – some people struggled to get to Q4 (worth the most marks!)

Marks available – check how many marks are available for each question

Reading: - Not enough detail ; lack of evidence - Really do need to use P.E.E. / P.E.T.E.R. - Not reading questions properly – e.g. many

trying to cover all aspects of FLAP in Q1 – not necessary. ALWAYS read the question properly and think carefully about what the question is asking.

The next few slides will take you through what you needed to have done for each question, in order to achieve the best amount of marks possible.

It would be useful for you to refer back to the exam paper and mark scheme, which can be found in the pupil shared area and I will soon publish on the school website – English homepage, under KS4 tab.

I recommend that you locate both of the above and print them off for future use.

Asked you to read Source 1 (Jan Moir’s newspaper article) and then asked you what you learnt about the article and where Bruce Parry had been / what he had been doing (8 marks).

You should have made 3-4 P.E.E. comments showing an understanding and engagement with the text – and of the key concerns/ideas contained within.

Appropriate references/quotations should have been included throughout to support ideas.

To achieve Band 3 (5-6 marks), we were looking for:

- Clear evidence the text had been understood - Engagement with the text as an article - Relevant and appropriate quotation offered - Interpretation of text and connections made

between events

Your response might have considered: some of the places Parry went to and some of the things he did ; his reception by the peoples he met and his reactions ; his actions and experiences in relation to his attitudes; the juxtaposition of his ‘tribal’ and ‘London restaurant’ experiences.

Asked you to read Source 2 (Rainforest article) and then asked you how the headline and whole picture added to the effectiveness of the text (8 marks).

You should have made 3-4 P.E.E. / P.E.T.E.R. comments showing an understanding and interpretation of how presentational features are used for effect. You needed also to offer perceptive insight into how this linked to the rest of the text.

Appropriate references/quotations should have been included throughout to support ideas.

Basically, you needed to have identified what you could see and think about how it all linked together / linked to the rest of the text. Comments like ‘it stands out’ are not enough!!

To achieve Band 3 (5-6 marks), we were looking for: - Clear evidence the headline had been understood - Interpretation of the headline - Explanation and interpretation of what the picture

showed - A linking of the picture content to the content of the

text, with relevant comments

- Your response might have considered: headline informative of article subject matter ; key words in headline and effects (e.g. ‘new’ / ‘revealed’ suggest discovery) ; complexity of ‘whole picture’ inc. 3D chart and how they enhance text (e.g. by making it scientific) ; effect of layout (e.g. spread of coral and fragile tentacles, related to relevant parts of text) ; how the labelling on the pictures is informative - as is rest of text ...

Asked you to read Source 3 (‘Afghan Journey’) and then asked you what some of the thoughts and feelings were of Mansur during his journey (8 marks).

You should have made 3-4 P.E.E. comments showing a detailed understanding of and engagement of key ideas / feelings explored in the text.

Appropriate references/quotations should have been included throughout to support ideas.

To achieve Band 3 (5-6 marks), we were looking for: - Inferences about thoughts and feelings from the text - Clear engagement with, and interpretation of,

character, place & context - Employment of relevant quotes to support

understanding - Clear focus on thoughts and feelings expressed in

the text

- Your response might have considered: Mansur’s fear about not waking up; his apparent liking for Western music, differing from his friends’ liking for Indian film music; his feeling of freedom and how he demonstrated this; his exclamation ‘how beautiful’ in the context of US bomb damage and snow-clad mountains; interpretation of his feelings trying to spot his mother’s house and childhood memories ...

Asked you to refer to Source 3 (‘Afghan Journey’) and then to select a 2nd for comparison (Item 1 or 2). The question was : Compare the ways in which language is used for effect in the two texts. Give some examples and explain what the effects are. (16 marks).

Many of you didn’t get this far or started to talk about layout, etc. – which is not relevant for a language question!! Always read the question properly!

So, what do we mean by language? What might we have been looking for?

How writers use words for effect – e.g. use of detail and description ; emotive or evocative vocabulary ; interesting adjectives/ verbs/ adverbs ; powerful language ; repetition ; alliteration ; simile ; metaphor ; onomatopoeia ; personification ; imagery; factual language ; vivid language ; juxtaposition ; use of fact / opinion, and so on ... (revise any terms you are unsure of!)

Ideas/comments must be

linked to context / audience / purpose and ideas must be explained in detail.

A key problem with this question is with writing about effects; selecting the right evidence and comparing.

Use phrases such as - This makes me feel ...

/ This makes me think ... / This could suggest ... – useful tools/frames to start thinking about effects of language.

Made at least 4 detailed P.E.E. / P.E.T.E.R. comments / comparisons to show a detailed understanding of and engagement of key ideas / feelings explored in the text.

Appropriate references/quotations should have

been included throughout to support ideas.

You should have made comparisons throughout using phrases such as : Similarly, ... ; However, ... ; In contrast, ... ; In comparison, ... ; On the other hand, ... ; Whereas ...)

To achieve Band 3 (9-12 marks), we were looking for: - Inferences about thoughts and feelings from the text - Clear evidence that the texts were understood in relation to

language - Clear appreciation and analysis of the effects of words and

phrases in the different contexts - Relevant and appropriate quotations and reference to support

ideas - Clear focus on comparisons and cross references between the

two texts

- Your response might have considered: the differing language used in relation to context (e.g. Parry article is reported & past tense / Afghan story is written in present tense / New Life – reporting scientific facts) ; use of language is tied to time, place and characters involved, yet each is effective in making a place seem interesting – e.g. words and phrases used by Parry illuminate his various cultural experiences / attitudes towards them ; ‘New Life’ presents an exciting/colourful image of discovery ; ‘Afghan Journey’ describes thoughts and feelings of travel in a war setting ...

Jan Moir Article – makes use of comparison – luxury London restaurant – ‘sweet grilled scallops ...’ compared with ‘raw, dried sago’. Use of description to present Parry as adventurous ‘ironclad’, but also humble ‘looks shattered’ ...

‘Afghan Journey’ – compares beauty of landscape with the devastation wreaked upon it. Language of excitement - ‘ Ouhhiiii!’ versus language of danger and devastation – ‘awful villages’, ‘ruins’, ‘like skeletons’ (simile), ‘proudly rise up’ (personification) ...

‘New Life’ ... – Makes use of facts and figures to give credibility, use of evocative language – ‘the icy waters of the Southern Ocean’ , ‘underwater canyons larger than the Grand Canyon’ – create sense of atmosphere and scale ...

On the next slide, is an example of a previous candidate’s response to a previous Q4 (Language Question). This piece of work demonstrates how it is possible to get full marks for Q4, without writing pages and pages.

We actually did a lot better on this section and will re-visit this section at a later date.

The important thing is to remember to include lots of detail and description, in order to develop ideas.

Remember also to use a range of punctuation, sentence structures and vocabulary for effect. Consider your use of form, language, audience and purpose, as well as paragraphing!!